It's Never Easy to Forget
by BeautyGoddess15
Summary: Ash is reflecting about his past and about how he thinks he is nothing. How will Gary, Brock, and Misty be able to comfort him?
1. What Happened?

It's Never Easy to Forget

Ash is reflecting about his past and about how he thinks he is nothing. Why does Gary know about Ash's past and why don't Brock and Misty?

Ages:

Ash: 12

Gary 12 ½

Misty: 13

Brock: 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

The stars are in the sky, the moon is shining brightly, and everybody is sleeping. Well, everybody except a young boy.

Ash looked into the fire seeming to be deep in thought. He lifted his head and looked at his surroundings. Stars, moon, trees, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, a fire, even Gary was sleeping at the opposite end of the fire, considering Brock asked if he would like to join them since they were all heading down to Pallet. Ash brought his attention back to the fire.

'_Everyone says that I am like a fire. They say I am so full of determination, never letting any obstacle get in my way. They say that I have a warm heart and that I always risk my life to save someone or a pokemon. They say that I am strong and that I never give up and keep going until I accomplish what I want.'_

Ash's eyes were beginning to sting with tears.

'_If only they knew that I was nothing…that I was nothing like a fire. That I was nothing at all.'_

Ash tried not to cry. He didn't want to. But with a failed attempt, tears started to stream down his face. Ash looked at Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and even Gary. Carefully getting up so he didn't wake the others, he walked over to the edge of the cliff where they were sleeping by and sat down and started to cry.

--

Misty woke up. She thought she heard something move. Looking around, she saw Brock, Pikachu, and Gary sleeping peacefully in their spots. When she got to Ash's sleeping bag, he wasn't there. Misty started to panic. '_Okay Misty, calm down, he probably went for a walk or someth--'_ Misty gasped, she saw Ash over by the cliff edge…crying. '_Why would he be crying, he's the strongest person I know. He never cries!! Something must be wrong!!'_

Misty got out of her sleeping bag, trying not to disturb the others, and walked over to Ash. As soon as she got over to Ash, she sat next to him and embraced him. Ash snapped his head up, looking into Misty's cerulean blue eyes. "Ash, what's wrong?" Ash didn't know how to respond. With his voice slightly cracking, he finally his ability to speak, "I-I'm fine Misty." "Ash, don't lie to me, why would you be crying if you were fine?" Ash gave up, he started to cry much harder then he did before. Misty did the only thing that she thought would help. While cradling Ash she whispered words of comfort to him. "Shh, Ash it's okay. Everything is going to be fine."

--

Brock thought he heard something, something like...crying? Waking up, he found Misty cradling Ash. Immediately getting worried, since he was the one who was suppose to take care of these two, he got up and walked toward his two friends. When Brock neared, Misty looked at him with a few tears in her eyes. Brock looked at Ash, never in his two and a half years of knowing him has he seen Ash so vulnerable. Ash was shaking because he was crying so hard. He looked back at Misty. "Misty, what happened?" With tears running down her cheeks she responded, "I don't know; I woke up because he was crying and I walked over. He didn't tell me anything yet."

Brock knelt by Ash and put of hand on his shoulder. "Ash?"

Ash looked up at Brock with tears coming down his face. "Yeah..."

"Ash, what's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong Brock."

"I know something is wrong Ash. Come on, we're your friends," Brock said as he lifted his hand up to wipe the tears from Ash's face.

Ash smacked Brock's hand away. "DON'T PRETEND LIKE YOUR MY FRIENDS. I KNOW YOU GUYS HATE ME. I DON'T DESERVE TO HAVE ANY FRIENDS."

After Ash said this, he just began to cry again.

--

Gary was shaking his head. _'Not this again. The last and only time I saw him like this is when that jerk left _(Ash is not the jerk that Gary is referring to)._ Today would be the ten year anniversary...I guess if you want to call it that.'_

Gary got up and went over the where Ash and his friends were sitting. "What do you guys think you are doing?" Gary said rather harshly.

Misty, starting to regret letting him stay with them, replied, "What does it look like we are doing? He's crying and we are trying to help him."

"Do you even know why he is crying?" Gary said smugly.

"You know what Gary, if you don't care about Ash then just go back to sleep. You don't have a right to help him anyway because all you do is make fun of him any chance you get. You don't even care about him."

Gary was starting to get fed up, "YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!"

Misty was confused, "When what happened?"

Gary looked at Ash, obviously ignoring Misty's question. "Gary, when what happened?"

"It's nothing, when Ash is ready to tell you, he'll tell you."

Now it was Brock's turn to be fed up. "LOOK GARY, ASH IS OUR FRIEND AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM RIGHT NOW!"

Misty was startled. Never had she heard Brock yell like that. But it doesn't seem Gary took it as a threat.

"Like I said, when Ash is ready to tell you, he will tell you. I shouldn't of even brought this up."

Gary went to walk back to his sleeping bag and stopped as he heard Ash call his name barely above a whisper. Gary turned around and looked into Ash's eyes. _'He is really taking this hard.'_

Gary sighed and walked back over to Ash and took over Misty's spot of cradling him. Ash dug his face into Gary's shirt and started to cry. "Ash, it's okay. You shouldn't listen to him, he doesn't know what he is talking about. Just calm down."

Misty was surprised. _'He is being so gentle with Ash. Whatever happened is surely not a laughing joke. I mean if Gary isn't being a jerk about this, it must be serious. And who is 'him' that Gary is talking about.'_

As if Brock read her mind, "Gary, who doesn't know what he is talking about?"

Gary looked up at Brock a little aggravated, "Look, I already told you that Ash will tell you when he is ready."

"Gary?" Gary looked down at Ash, who looked very tired from crying so much. "Yeah?" "You can tell them what happened." Gary was shocked. "A-Are you sure Ash, I mean-" "Please, tell them."

Gary sighed. _'This is going to be a long night'_ "It happened ten years ago exactly..."

Hi everybody. As you can tell, this is part of my first story that I have written. I am planning on making another chapter. I would appreciate it if you guys could review and tell me what I need to work on in my stories. Thank you :


	2. Revealed Past

**10 Years Ago – The Ketchum Residence**

A little boy with jet black hair and chocolate brown eyes was sitting behind some bushes. _'I know he won't find me here!'_ "FOUND YOU ASH!!" Ash groaned and looked up, seeing a boy that looked quite similar to him with the expectation of having brown hair, amber eyes, and being slightly taller. "Gary! How did you find me?" "Well, the game gets easier when you hide in the same spot every time." "I don't _always_ hide in the same spot." Gary laughed, "Yeah, when you don't hide here, you hide behind a tree." Ash smiled and soon enough started laughing with Gary, "So what if I hide in the same spot, there's no where else to hide!"

"Boys, time for lunch," Delia, who was Ash's mother and was in great shape for her age, yelled to the boys. Gary jumped in the air, "YES, I love your mom's cooking Ash!" "Yea, me too! We should hurry up before the food gets cold!" Both boys ran into the house and grabbed about three plate fulls of everything. Delia turned to look at Ash and Gary. "How do you two manage to eat all that food? Well, I guess it doesn't matter...as long as you two don't get sick. Anyway, Ash, it's a beautiful day outside. Why don't you and Gary go outside to eat today." Ash looked up at his mom, "Sure mommy! Come on Gary!"

While outside, Ash and Gary decided to have a food eating contest to see who can eat the fastest. "Okay. Ready. Set. GO!!" both boys yelled as they dived into their food. In not even a minute, both boys were done. "Who won?" "I don't know, Ash." "Well...maybe we should go get more food to have another contest." "Good Idea! For once, you are using your brain!" "Yup!" Ash said proudly, "Wait, you just insulted me!!" Gary sighed, "Maybe I was wrong about you using your brain..." "HEY!! I use my brain a lot, thank you. Now let's go get more food before my mom puts it away!" Ash got up, picking up his plates, and headed inside with Gary right behind him.

"MICHAEL! STOP IT RIGHT NOW! HE COULD HEAR YOU!" Ash and Gary froze. "Ash, I never heard your mom yell like that before." "Neither did I..."

"DELIA! YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE AN ABORTION!!"

"NO, I SAID I WOULD PUT HIM UP FOR ADAPTATION!!"

"WELL, DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT HAPPENED? THAT KID IS NOTHING BUT ANNOYING! I WANT HIM OUT OF THIS HOUSE NOW!"

"YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT, MICHAEL!! HE'S OUR SON. HE'S OUR RESPONIBILTY!!"

"WELL, I DIDN'T WANT A CHILD!"

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD OF THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU SLEPT WITH ME, YOU PIG!!"

Tears were starting to run down Ash's face. "Gary, what's going on" Gary looked over to Ash. "I don't know, your parents are mad about something. Maybe we should just leav--"

"DELIA!! ASH IS NOTHING BUT A STUPID CHILD. HOW CAN YOU LOVE HIM? HE IS NOTHING!! HE SHOULD BE IN AN ADAPTATION CENTER. NOBODY CAN EVER LOVE HIM!!"

"KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW MICHAEL!!"

"DELIA!! IT'S EITHER ME OR THAT RAT. WHO DO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN THIS HOUSE WITH YOU?"

Ash decided he had heard enough. He dropped the plates he was holding and ran up to his bedroom and slammed the boor shut. Delia and Michael, breaking from their fight, stared at Gary and then back at each other.

"Delia, I'm leaving. I can't stand that brat any longer."

Gary stared as Ash's father opened the front door and went outside. The car's engine was heard as the car pulled out of the driveway and down the street, out of sight. There were tears streaming down Delia's face as she walked over to where Gary was standing to pick up the broken plates of the floor. "Gary." Gary looked up at Ash's mother with a scared expression across his face. "Gary, I'm not going to yell at you. I just need you to check up on Ash for me, please." Gary nodded and headed upstairs.

Once Gary got to the door, he could hear what he believed was crying coming from Ash's room. Gary placed his hand on the door knob and opened the door slowly. "Ash?" Gary walked into the room and shut the door. "Ash, where are you?" A low sobbing was heard as Gary made his way toward the other end of the bed. "Ash? Are you okay?" Gary was now looking at Ash curdled up in a ball in the corner of his room, still crying his eyes out. "Ash, please answer me!" Seeing as he wasn't getting an answer from Ash, he slowly walked up to him and extended his hand. Ash looked up at Gary and hit his hand away.

"GARY GO AWAY!!"

"Ash, I'm just trying to help."

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP. I DON'T NEED _YOU_ AT ALL!!"

"Ash...you don't mean that. Just think about th--"

"GO AWAY GARY! JUST GET OUT OF MY LIFE!!"

Gary was startled. Ash never yelled at him. As a matter of fact, Ash never yelled at all.

"I SAID TO GO AWAY!!"

Gary looked strait into Ash's eyes, "Fine than Ash. I guess we aren't friends anymore." Then, Gary sprinted out of Ash's room and ran to his house.

--

**Present Time**

"And that's what happened." Misty and Brock took a moment to absorb everything they just heard. _'His father left just like that?! As soon as I find this guy I will make sure that he never sees daylight again,'_ Misty was quite angry with this, "How can someone do that?" Brock responded her, "I don't know Misty." Misty decided it would be best if they just stop talking about this and turned her head toward Ash, who was still cradled in Gary's arms._ 'Look at Ash. He looks so worn out. Maybe he should go to bed.'_ Her pondering was put to a halt though as soon as Ash spoke for the first time since the story started. "Gary, I'm sorry. I need you." Ash said, in a very wearily tone of voice. As soon as he finished that sentence, he fell asleep.

Gary was the first to speak, "I guess he worn himself out with all of his crying."

"Gary, he just said he was sorry to you and all you do he state that he fell asleep," Misty was overly enraged by the way Gary was taking this.

"Well, it's not my fault he ruined our friendship ten years ago."

"That wasn't his fault! You said so yourself, he wasn't thinking!"

"And he had ten years to make up for it!!"

"You are UNbelievable!!"

"I'm the one who is unbelievable? You can't even muster up the courage to tell him your true feelings about him!"

"What makes you think I have feelings for him? And don't change the subject. I can tell Ash really wants to be your friend again."

"And I can tell that you want to be his girlfriend."

Misty was about to yell when Brock stepped forward. "Look guys, stop yelling. Ash is sleeping and you'll wake him up! Let's just all go to bed and do NOT bring this up in the morning."

Misty murmured "fine" before going to her sleeping bag. Brock looked at Gary, "And you should accept his apology. You and I both know that Ash doesn't admit when he is wrong. Plus, you obviously care about him." Gary looked at Brock and replied, "I don't know. I want to be his friend again but--" "Gary, you're right. Ash wasn't thinking when he said that stuff to you. He was listening to what his father said about him. Ash needs all the help he could get if he wants to get over this and you rejecting him won't help." Gary nodded, picked up Ash, and walked over to the sleeping bags. Brock got into his sleeping bag as Gary put Ash into his. _'I should be the one who's sorry, Ash'_ Gary walked back to his sleeping bag as a single tear fell down his cheek.

Hi again! I think I am going to make one more chapter to this story. And thanks to the few of you that commented on my story. I really appreciate it!!


	3. Here on Out

_'Ugg, why do I have a headache?'_ Ash opened his eyes and looked around his surroundings. _'Everyone is sleeping? This is about the time when we wake up. Did we go to bed late again? No, everyone was sleeping when I was up until I starte--'_ Ash gasped. _'They know what happened!! Okay, clam down Ash. They said they were your friends. But I told them that I don't need friends! What if they leave!'_

Ash looked back at everyone else. "Maybe I should go for a walk and think," Ash whispered quietly to himself. Carefully getting up, he walked away from the campsite and into the woods. He kept walking until he reached another clearing, similar to the spot they were camping out at. Ash looked around and spotted a little cliff where he sat down and began to ponder on last night's events.

--

Gary woke up and the first thing he thought of was Ash. Looking over at the sleeping bag, he found that it was empty. In fact, Ash wasn't any where near the campsite.

"Chu?" Gary, looked over to see a worried Pikachu.

"Pikachu, stay here. I am going to look for Ash. Okay?"

"Pika!"

Gary got up and headed into the direction Ash went.

--

_'I wonder if Gary would forgive me...I basically ruined our friendship.'_

"Ash! I finally found you!" Ash turned his head and looked at where a smiling Gary was standing.

"Um.. Hi Gary.." Ash said while turning his head back to look over the cliff. Gary's smile turned to a frown as he walked to where Ash was siting and took a seat, "Ash, are you alright?" After a couple of seconds of silence Gary sighed, "Ash don't ignore me."

"It's a free country, I can do want I want!" Ash snapped.

"Yea, like ruin your friendship with everyone!" Gary fired back.

Ash said nothing and simply stared at Gary with tears welling up in his eyes. Gary immediately regretted saying his last sentence. "Ash, I didn't mean to say that. I'm sor--"

"Gary, please don't say your sorry. You shouldn't be sorry. I ruined our friendship ten years ago and never apologized to you. You were just trying to help and I showed my gratitude by pushing you out of my life," Ash took in a deep breath before continuing, "Gary, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for ending our friendship. I'm sorry for being a jerk to you. And I'm sorry for realizing this right now after ten years. I just want us to be friends again. Can you please forgive me?"

Ash looked up at Gary with a few tears running down his face and with a look of hope in his eyes.

_'And you should accept his apology._ _You and I both know that Ash doesn't admit when he is wrong. Ash needs all the help he could get if he wants to get over this and you rejecting him won't help.'_ Brock's voice echoed in Gary's head. Gary looked back out over the cliff seeming deep in thought. A smile appeared on Gary's lips as he turned to Ash. "I forgive you, Ash."

Ash's eyes opened wide with shock. "You forgive me?" Soon, a smile formed on Ash's lips and he tackled Gary into a big hug. "Thank you so much Gary!"

Gary chuckled, "Ash, calm down, weren't not two anymore."

"Ash! Gary! There you two are!" Ash and Gary looked up from were they were siting to see Misty run towards them. "What are you guys doing out here? Breakfast is almost ready and you two didn't even pack your stuff up yet."

"Calm down Mist. I came down here to think and Gary followed." Misty immediately blushed upon hearing her nickname. Gary noticing this, smiled. "Well, I am off to go pack. Ash?" Ash jerked his head up and looked at Gary. "Yeah?" "Misty told me she had something to tell you last night, but you fell asleep before she could tell you anything." And with that Gary disappeared into the woods.

Ash turned his attention toward Misty, who was as red as a tomato. "What did you want to tell me?"

"N-Nothing. I-I don't know what Gary is talking about."

Ash raised his eyebrow, "You're lying Mist."

Misty felt like her heart would explode, "N-No, I'm not."

"Your face is red. Are you okay?"

"Yea, why wouldn't I be okay," Misty lied.

Ash stood up and put his hand on Misty's forehead, "Misty, you're really warm. Are you sure your okay?"

"Yes Ash, I am fine. But what about you? Did you sleep well?" Misty asked trying to change the subject and to get Ash's hand off of her.

"I guess so, I could have slept better, though. Now, come on! What did you have to tell me?"

Misty sighed seeing as there would be no way out of this one. _'How do I tell him that I love him? I don't even know if he loves me or if he even knows what love is. I guess I can just show him...'_

Misty took in a deep breath, moved closer to Ash, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She moved her head up slightly and kissed Ash gently on the lips. Ash was shocked! _'She's kissing me! She loves me, too! What do I do? Do I kiss her back? Yea! Kiss her back, Ash. Come on!!'_ Misty was surprised when Ash started to kiss her back. It seemed like hours when the two parted to breath. Misty looked up at Ash and Ash looked down at Misty.

"I love you, Ash."

"I love you, too, Misty." Ash smiled, everything was going to be okay from here on out.


End file.
